<p>Hi...first time posting and I hope everyone can help me with my issue at hand. I attend a very selective private HS that quite frankly had me waitlisted at the beginning but after aggressvely pursuing them and sending recommendation letters on smy behalf, I was accepted. All my grade school years I struggled to focus and be consistent with grades. My IQ is normal but my grades were never stellar despite efforts. I am a junior now, finally knew something was not right, fought the good fight but finally got diagnosed by school and doctors of my ADD. I'm taking my SATs in June but my gpa is a low 2.5. I know that if i did not go to a challenging private HS, I may have been able to get a higher GPA despite my undiagnosed LD.
Here's my question: I am a D1 track recruit who has not yet shared my GPA yet hoping to get a decent SAT mark. I want to be able to have the SAT decent mark to balance out my low GPA when I share the grades. Will coaches stop pursuing me because of my mediocre grades or if they really want me on their team, will they have the ability to help me through admissions? What are my chances on still being on their radar?</p>
<p>OP</p>
<p>Your GPA/SAT balance will first have to pass the NCAA clearinghouse threshold in order to be a recruited college athlete. Go to the NCAA Cleringhouse for more information. </p>
<p>Depending on the school- that will answer your GPA question. What kinds of schools do you want to consider? Search the school’s websites and see what the middle 50% is bringing to the table in way of GPA and SAT</p>
<p>Also–If you have full reports from the doctors who did the testing and write up–you should have your school and so on complete the filing to the College Board. If you truly have an LD, then you MAY be eligible for additional time in testing.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Starry66,</p>
<p>Welcome to CC. I’m happy for you that you finally understand your condition. I was also diagnosed as ADD when I was 10 (in 1972) , and I’ve been lucky enough to have grown out of it. I truly believe there is a school for everyone, your challenge is to find “it” and the coach that will make you shine on the track and in the classroom. If you are a D1 track recruit that is fantastic. I would use track as your “hook” to help you get a better education and further develop life skills. Keep working hard in the classroom, SATS, and on the track. Coaches will pursue you because you can help the school and their program. Remember, you are competing against other student athletes, so that is why it is so important to keep your “foot on the gas” in the classroom. Don’t let up one bit! Coaches also want athletes that they know can stay in school. I would make it very clear to them how hard you’ve fought to get where you are, and that you have no intention of giving up.</p>
<p>Start making a list of schools and studies you are interested in, and begin contacting coaches your sophmore and junior year. Some coaches will say “no” and some coaches will be interested in you. Continue to develop a rapport with them and hopefully they will recruit you. You must continue to perform in the classroom and on the track. Feel free to post on the website if you have specific questions or you can PM me. You have some great resources at your disposal on this website.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Depending on your LD, you may be entitled to extra time on the SAT and/or ACT, as well as other accommodations. It would be worthwhile exploring those options, since a higher SAT/ACT score may help to balance out your GPA.</p>
<p>It’s also imperative that you broaden your college search, and contact as many schools as possible that might be a good fit for you athletically and academically. Feel free to contact me directly if you need some direction.</p>
<p>if you’re very good in your track event and given your low gpa and a possible low sat i’d look at Oregon. again if you’re very good in your event i think they might be interested. track is a religion up there.</p>
<p>a 2.5 is going to block you out of a lot of top d1 track schools.</p>
<p>I wonder if Texas would be interested? My son and I got to meet with the track coaches and tour their training facilities. Wow!! We met the runner who was the Olympic flag bearer at the last Olympics (he was visiting a friend while we were there). They had a treadmill built into a swimming pool, with a huge TV on the wall you could watch while running. Their tutoring service for athletes is supposed to be unbelievable, so that would be helpful. The athletes get new running shoes whenever they need them. If the right size is not in stock, they are ordered to arrive the next day. Each runner gets two sets of workout clothes, and one set is laundered for him/her each night. I could go on, but you get the idea! </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I could have gone to another HS early on and know my GPA would have been a little bit higher (3.0 or greater). It’s a regret but then again, I may not have been stretched in a certain track event only to find out that it is my strength. I’m running out of time and hopefully with a new way of testing for me and potentially medicaation to help me focus better, my grades will shoot up. Right now, I have only my upcoming SATs and ACTs and firt qtr senior gpa this fall to show. Will that be enough and what D1 track schools should I or should I not consider? I am looking at American,DePaul,Ole Miss, Miss St, Univ of Ark, Univ Memphis, Syracuse, Univ of Maryland, PSU, George Mason… ANy on this list I can bank on?</p>
<p>It seems to me that for a recruited athlete, many of the schools on that list will be within reach academically for you.</p>
<p>starry, great job getting this figured out while you’re still in high school. You will need some letters of recommendation and this could be tricky if you’ve struggled in school. Do you have a teacher right now who knows your story? Talk to this person, and work hard in all your classes, especially for this teacher, so he can write honestly about your improvement this year, even if it’s incremental. Your teachers want to see you go to college and succeed. Senior year is going to be a great opportunity for you to see what you can do in school, with the benefit of meds, and hopefully a few accomodations for test taking. Best wishes.</p>
<p>I have a great relationship with my guidance counselor and my English Creative Writing mentor/teacher who has made a major difference in the direction I want to go in. I do have a family member who is a provost at a very respected science focused university that could also help me out with not only a recommendation but his connections that may be alumni to the colleges I want to go to. As for the coaches, I have been providing them with regular updates of my athletic performances to date and have received great interest from them as well. I just don’t know how to handle the ‘grades’ question as all I put down on the recruiting questionnaire is that I am scheduled for an upcoming SAT/ACT and will report the scores after I receive them. I have not mentioned my 2.5 gpa at a private college prep HS. I am uncertain if I should just share my newly diagnosed LD as I don’t want them to think I am finding an excuse for my low grades. My pride wants me to hide it and work harder but the reality is,I am running out of time and I should share it. I jut don’t know how.</p>
<p>^^tough situation.</p>
<p>talk (meet with) the provost. He or she will know how to advise you. And always start at the top, so a provost at a respect college is a good place to start!</p>
<p>I wonder if I take a summer course at one of the schools I am interested in. My intention is to show how capable I am to do well in a college course. Do you think this will help me and help the coach be guided thru admission acceptances on my behalf?</p>